October Wrap-Up

My favorite month is over. *sad face* And I don't even feel like I got to enjoy it. *sadder face* Okay, that's not totally true--I did do fun things, but there was a lot less walks-in-the-leaves, drinking-cocoa, pumpkin-carving, costume-wearing, feast-day-celebrating awesomeness than I expected. And a lot more panicking-over-school than I expected, coincidentally. :)

Blog

My Posts:
Good, Better, Best: Fall Books
Review: "Frogkisser!" by Garth Nix
Jem Jones Linkup: Quirk #5
Review: "The Return of the Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner
In Defense of Harry Potter
Review: "The Crush" by Allyson Kennedy
Tag: My Favorite Things (2x)
Review: "The Morning Gift" by Eva Ibbotson

Around the Blogosphere:
MK wrote about what she was doing to procrastinate studying, and it's hilarious (and relatable).
Christine Smith started the Know the Novel linkup, which I'm not participating in, but is really fun to follow.
Sarah Rodecker wrote about whether you should do NaNo, and it was SUCH a good post.
Megan Chappie introduced her new project, and it sounds amazing!
MC did a monster Sunshine Blogger Award post, which was a lot of fun to read.

Books

By popular command demand, the book list is still here! But I'll also be talking about what movies I watched this month. I did read fewer books this month, you may notice. (Life is swallowing me whole).

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace
*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
*The Crush by Allyson Kennedy (eARC)
*Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
The Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
*Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
*Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
*Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
*Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
All-Of-A-Kind Family Uptown by Sidney Taylor
No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty
Lock and Key: The Initiation by Ridley Pearson
Lock and Key: The Downward Spiral by Ridley Pearson
Lock and Key: The Final Step by Ridley Pearson
*Caddy's World by Hilary McKay
*The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson
*Just Kidding by Deborah Niemann
*Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
*The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall
Don't Die, My Love by Lurlene McDaniels
The Aeneid by Virgil
*The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
*Adventures in Yarn Farming by Barbara Parry
*Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay
*Permanent Rose by Hilary McKay
*Forever Rose by Hilary McKay
A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Scored by Lauren McLaughlin
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Hope in the Mail by Wendelin Van Draanen
Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen
The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones by Wendelin Van Draanen
*Indigo's Star by Hilary McKay
*Caddy Ever After by Hilary McKay

The Wendelin Van Draanen binge was entirely MC's fault...thank you so much, MC. :)

Movies

Quick note: I'm still learning what I want to say about the movies...so there may be a couple of very minor spoilers for the two HP movies we watched this month. I can't help myself :)

My family doesn't watch a lot of movies, and I ended up skipping out on a couple of family movies to do other things (like volunteer for Mass)...so four movies this month! But they were good ones.

*Zootopia
I love this movie! We rewatched it as a family the first week of October, and it was a hoot. I forgot how funny it is the whole time! "I may be a dumb bunny, but we are good at multiplying".

The Big Sleep (1946)
This was my fourth or fifth Humphrey Bogart movie, but the first one with Lauren Bacall in it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Film Noir is something I really have to be "in the mood" for, because it's so twist-y and confusing and generally in black-and-white, but Fall always puts me in the mood for it, and this one was a lot of fun. 

*Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I'm rewatching the HP movies with Legolas, and I keep forgetting that she doesn't know how much they cut...so our watching sessions always end with me happy and nostalgic, and her up in arms about how they massacred the plot. Granted, HBP doesn't really have a plot. But there are a lot of really good scenes in the movie! I especially love the Harry-Hermione platonic sweetness. And also, I don't know why everyone thinks Bonnie Wright can't act...because she absolutely can. 

*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
This was another Legolas-is-outraged-I'm-nostalgic movie. I forgot how much I actually loved Part 1? Because Part 2 is my second favorite of all the movies, but Part 1 has soooooo many of my favorite parts from Book 7! Like Bill & Fleur's wedding, and Harry and Hermione dancing (hello more platonic sweetness! Their relationship actually reminds me somewhat of me and (my cousin) Pippin), and Ron coming back, and the scene in Malfoy Manor (look, it's character building, ok?). The movie does end rather abruptly...so I'm definitely looking forward to watching Part 2! But I really enjoyed watching this one, all on its own.

Life

I got my black belt! This is the culmination of six years of work, and five months of intensive preparation, as well as an hour-and-a-half long test that left me sore for a week! But I'm now a black belt in Shudo-kan Karate-do! Woot! Of course, as soon as the test was over, I injured myself in two different ways...but I'm feeling better now.

My sweet, sweet confirmation sponsor Frodo, and my sweet, sweet friend Eowyn surprised me with roses for the feast of St. Therese! (one of my confirmation saints). Coincidentally, I had been praying the novena for (among other things) good preparation for marriage for the both of them (they're both engaged, and yes, both a lot older than me), so hopefully this means that that one was answered. :)

We bred Cassie the goat! This is a picture of her from two years ago when she was pregnant with triplets (ft. my arm). (Yes, triplets is normal in Nigerian Dwarf goats--we've had a goat have quadruplets, and some of our friends have had a goat have sextuplets!) Legolas and I drove her two hours up northeast to the farm of the buck owners, they did their thing, and then we drove two hours back. Yes, we sang Hamilton a lot of the way, and choir songs the rest of the way. So hopefully, Cassie will get pregnant and grace us with some adorable kids in about five months. We'll see! 

I got into Colorado State! They do a rolling admissions notification thing, so I won't hear from any of the other colleges I applied to until February-March, but it's reassuring to know that at least ONE college wants this homeschooler! (And no, I don't know if I'm going there. It depends on a variety of factors).

We've gone up to Rivendell a bunch of times this month! It's been mostly maintenance but also fun--the fall colors are just gorgeous. We've mowed the meadow, and planted a metric ton of garlic, and mostly tucked the garden in. You can't see in this picture, but the river has been running really high lately, which is fun to see, but a little nerve-wracking! 

School. It's eating me alive. This is my bullet journal spread from a lighter week. Yes, really. Plant Bio is a huge amount of fun--my teacher is fantastic. Art is...art. I'm not the best at it, but it's going okay. Maybe someday I'll even put up something I drew! But today is not that day. Project Management is...remarkably self-directed. Lots of work. We'll leave it at that. My homeschool classes are...fun. Cool. More work. :) 

November Plans

• Continue getting good grades in Running Start
• Breed Dora the goat
• Submit my last college application, and my scholarship apps (grrrrrrrrrrr....more essays)
• Celebrate Thanksgiving with my family
• See Pippin! He's coming back from college! We're planning to marathon LOTR over winter break! All the excitement.
• Start Advent!!!!!! (I am inordinately excited for Advent this year...and I don't know why)
• Celebrate Frodo's birthday (My Frodo, not LOTR Frodo...his was last month. :D)
• Reread The Scorpio Races because...November.
• Go into quarantine for a couple of weeks, because...my grandparents are going to come visit! I'm excited to see them...less excited to quarantine for two weeks. *grumpy face*

How's school/work been for y'all? Has anyone ever sent you flowers for a feast day? Did you have a Autumnal October? And as always, if you want to hear my opinions on any of the books I read...ask away. :)